Ralph Thomas Johnston

Ralph Thomas Johnston, age 57, died on June 11 in San Antonio, Texas. He was born in Washington D.C. on August 25, 1954, to the late Norma Catherine Follin Johnston and the late Ralph Talbert Johnston. He is survived by his wife, Cecily Harshman Johnston and their sons, Thomas Cooper Johnston and Joseph Edward Johnston, and also by his siblings, Neil, Catherine, Patricia, Ruth Anne, and Philip, and their families. Ralph grew up in northern Virginia, Okinawa, and Maryland, and graduated from Glen Burnie High School in 1972. Having ushered in movie theaters, he joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 224, and became a movie projectionist. He worked in many theaters in the greater Washington D.C. area, and became a labor union officer and pension trustee. While working full time, he attended the University of Maryland. When the National Air and Space Museum opened in 1975, Ralph became a projectionist in the cutting edge Imax Theater. A friend urged him to apply to the Yale School of Management, where he earned a Master of Public and Private Management degree in 1986. He also met his future wife, Cecily. After graduation, he pursued a career in museum administration and consulting. He became the Director of Exhibits at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, which was undergoing a major expansion, eventually becoming the Deputy Executive Director. In 1989 ground was broken for the Virginia Air and Space Center and Hampton Roads History Center in Hampton, Virginia. Ralph was hired as its first Executive Director. He opened the $29.7 million project on time and on budget. In 1997, Odyssey, The Maritime Discovery Center in Seattle, Washington hired Ralph as its Executive Director, with a mandate to complete the project and begin operations, which he did, on time and on budget. Between these positions, Ralph consulted to museum projects, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the corporate museum of American Airlines, the California Museum of Science and Industry, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, the USS Missouri Memorial Chief Petty Officers Legacy Center, and the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium expansion. He was also an expert witness in a contract dispute. Ralph and Cecily were married in 1990 in Neversink, New York. When their sons were young, he became involved with Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. After volunteering in a variety of capacities, he became the editor of the parish's fiftieth anniversary book, the President of the Parish Council, and the President of the Building Committee, helping to plan an expansion for the parish school. He was also the uniform coordinator for the Magnolia Little League, and a member of the Ballard Food Bank board. In 2004 Ralph and his family moved to San Antonio, Texas where he began volunteering at the parish school, The Atonement Academy. This led to positions as the textbook inventory manager, the College Counselor, an instructor in Technology, Government, and Economics, a member of the School Council, and eventually the Headmaster. He also volunteered at the parish, Our Lady of the Atonement, having been drawn to its Anglican Use liturgy. He became involved in the network of Anglican Use parishes, wrote articles, and attended annual conferences where he became the Master of Ceremonies. Ralph was a contrarian and an original thinker, with a gift for strengthening organizations and an inclination to help in whatever ways were needed. He is greatly missed. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, June 21, 2012, at Porter Loring Mortuary North Chapel.

ROSARY

THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 2012

7:00 P.M.

PORTER LORING MORTUARY NORTH CHAPEL

MASS

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2012

11:30 A.M.

OUR LADY OF THE ATONEMENT CATHOLIC CHURCH

15415 RED ROBIN ROAD

Reception with light lunch will follow. Interment will follow in Resurrection Cemetery of the Cordi-Marian Sisters. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Ralph Johnston may be made to, The Atonement Academy, 15415 Red Robin Road, San Antonio, Texas 78255.